Attempting to create the perfect summer kitchen for your home can leave people feeling torn about what route to go down. Do you choose a light, airy, beachy aesthetic? Or a traditional, English countryside space, perfect for hosting a garden party?
We’re here to help guide you through the process. Our in-house team of designers are experts in creating your dream kitchen, but we’ve created this short guide to give some inspiration before you start!
Finding Inspiration
Mood boarding is such a great way to bring all your ideas – big or small – together. Having a place to see how well things work from flooring, to paint colours, to furnishings, you can get an idea of how well things will work together and give you the chance to experiment with certain features without commitment.
This can be done by ripping pages out from your favourite magazines or using samples you’ve ordered and collating them. If you’re a little more tech-savvy, you can copy and paste images from the internet into a document.
We would recommend starting with a piece of furniture or colour you know you love and going from there!
In this article, we have defined the two most common styles of summer kitchens we often see; a light, airy, beach aesthetic and British Countryside Summer. One is more traditional than the other, but both can work harmoniously in any home.
As always, having a floor plan drawn up is essential to starting your project. Knowing where appliances and cabinetry are can determine the working order of your kitchen, so this is a must.
What Cabinets Do I Choose?
Next, deciding on the style of cabinetry. All our ranges can be fitted seamlessly into your summer kitchen, whether you are inspired by the smooth finish our Modern or Fusion range cabinets provide or would like to keep it traditional with our Shaker and Period English cabinets, any would suit! We recommend the Modern Kitchen range for a sleek, stylish area. Pairing warm oak detailing with hand-painted cabinets allows you to bring in a pop of colour if you wish, but we love this kitchen designed for a client in London. They selected Little Greene’s ‘Linen Wash 33’ for the cabinets.
If you are aiming for more of a typical countryside farmhouse style, then our Shaker cabinets provide that truly quintessential, English look.
Colours
As for colours, summer is all about open spaces and embracing the warm weather. No matter how small or large the space you’re working with is, colour can have a dramatic effect on how the room feels.
Suitable Colours:
Farrow & Ball – All White, Shirting, White Tie, Hague Blue.
Little Greene – Linen Wash, Kitchen Green, Sage Green, French Gray
Choosing natural whites for the majority of the room whether that be for walls, tiling, or cabinetry, applies to both genres of kitchens. It’s the different materials and textures that bring the room to life. Think of seaside towns, light panelling paired with blue accents, or a statement island that would complement wonderfully.
Don’t want to go too light? Go for something dark and moody! But bring plenty of lighter elements to keep the space light and fresh. We love a deep palette in kitchens like the one we completed in Oxford.
Worktops
Surfaces always need to be hardworking and durable, but can these fit in with your aesthetic? Of course! Selecting a sophisticated and rich worktop will effortlessly bring a luxurious feel to your summer kitchen. We recommend opting for wooden features for a countryside look, whether that be a wooden-top island or a butcher’s block placed somewhere convenient for you. Wide stave oak worktops mature to perfection over time, creating a lasting statement in your kitchen. Full stave oak worktops provide a striking showcase for the charming grain and natural colour variation of solid oak.
If you want to keep a sleek look, Silestone worktops are available in a wide variety of colours and styles and are perfect in a working family home. Silestone is made of 94% quartz and bonded with resins and other adhesives, which makes it an incredibly hard and durable surface. Scratch resistant and a high resistance to stains and dents, so can last a lifetime in your home.
Now, you should have a good idea of where to start for your perfect Summer Kitchen! Why not send us your floor plans, and we can begin designing your dream space?